Hand Dyed

Happy Easter!

Still Here!

And still stitching! I have two finishes to share! The first is the next installment in my LK monthlies, called "Remember". Here's how it looks so far:We're definitely having some issues with wrinkly linen here! And this is after I ironed it!

I stayed up past my bedtime last night and finished this little guy:It's the red-headed woodpecker from Prairie Schooler's Birdsong II. Instead of filling in the background with stitches, I cheated and used some light blue (okay, it was dawn grey!) fabric. See the line where the fabric was folded? It will not go away no matter what I try! Does anyone else ever have this problem with fabric that's been in your stash for several years? I have all these nifty little packages of fabric in my closet that I've been trying to use, but they all seem to have these fold lines. Any advice?

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Easter weekend! I will have everyone home tomorrow except my oldest son who is still in Korea. Now I'm off to boil a couple dozen eggs for the kids to dye!

Fear of Finishing

I admit it! I'm a finishing chicken! I'm terrified that I'll take some lovely piece that I spent hours stitching and completely ruin it by trying to turn it into a pillow or pinkeep! So I decided I needed some practice to build up some confidence. I pulled out an old round robin that didn't really have much of a theme (unless it was "Cross Stitch from the '90s") so the motifs didn't go together very well. I still cringed when I took the scissors to it, and cut away one of the squares; Victim #1 was in my shaking hands! With the hardest part behind me, I got to work making a little hanging pillow. I had to sew the entire thing by hand because my machine is still being cranky. And I learned some lessons. Number one: Don't forget your seam allowance! What a newbie mistake! My second lesson concerned the hanger part: If you want it to be on the outside when you're done, don't sew it to the inside! I'm also going to have to learn how to be neater about sewing up the "stuffing hole". It came out a little lumpy. Other than those few things, WOOHOO! I did it! And I have to say, I couldn't have done it without the inspiration I get from other stitchers who share so many lovely finishes on their blogs! Thank you all!

A Non-Stitchy Post

Saturday has turned into "Adventures in Baking" day here. So far we've tried focaccia, bagels, and kolaches. Today it was baked donuts. I couldn't help but laugh when we pulled them out of the oven. We made belly buttons!

Some got dipped in cinnamon sugar, some got dusted with powdered sugar, and some got eaten right away!
We are showing the house tomorrow at 1:00. This is our first serious showing in close to two months so keep your fingers crossed!

SBQ Time!

This week’s SBQ comes from the archives:

After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?

For the most part I hang on to them, even the freebies I print out from the internet. A lot of times they're pretty worn out by the time I'm done with them but I don't think I've ever thrown a pattern away. I've also sent them on to other stitchers or done trades.

Winter Has Returned!

Did I say spring had sprung? I take it back! Here's what we woke up to this morning...I know most of you are tired of snow by now, but I have to say it was totally gorgeous watching it fall last night in the moonlight. I was surprised this morning to see so much had accumulated. I had to get outside and take some pictures quick before it all melted!

I started Spring Has Come from Prairie Schooler yesterday while watching our winter storm roll in on radar. I'll get a picture posted as soon as there's enough to show! Tonight will be Sonic Burgers, American Idol, and primary results, with a little stitching thrown in!

Goal Review and a Finish

Overall, I think I had a good month...
1. Continue to work on Winter Sampler. I did, but not much. This one is in danger of becoming a UFO :-(
2. Finish "Love My Coffee" by Lizzie Kate. Yes!
3. Start and finish "Dream" by Lizzie Kate. Yes!
4. Start and finish "Love" by Lizzie Kate. Yes!
5. Start and finish February Woolly Tyme blanket. Yes!

Goals for March...
1. Start and finish "Remember" by Lizzie Kate. (I'm planning to do one of these a month.)
2. Start and finish "Season of Hope" by Little House Needleworks.
3. Start "Spring Has Come" by Prairie Schooler.
4. Start and finish at least one of the bird ornaments from "Birdsong II" by PS.
5. Reduce my pile of UFO's!

And here is my latest finish...

Lovebird

a delicious freebie from Deborah at Midsummer Night Musings

stitched with DMC on 28-count Golden Tan Quaker Cloth

My itchy nose says spring has finally sprung here in North Texas. Even though our temps have been in the 50s and 60s, I still had a case of the winter blahs last week. I'm hoping to shake them soon with some springy stitching!